You're in Control
by Serpensi
Summary: James Buchanan Barnes was a soldier, The Winter Soldier – the monster that HYDRA turned him in – was an assassin. But which one of those personalities was he, really? Struggling with his memories, he finds help from the most unexpected person. Post CA:TWS


**You're in control**

 _Prologue_

The world around her was shaking, as she ran towards the black SUV, clinging to her laptop. She could clearly see the driver by now: a small, redheaded woman, who had a look of terror on her face.

Tomoko could feel the ground behind her giving in. _Just my luck!_ The woman in the SUV backed up in time for her to grab onto the door handle, and throw herself in the backseat, feeling the car jerking forward into the tunnel leading to the outside.

"Hold tight, this is gonna be a bumpy ride!" yelled the woman, also known as The Black Widow. After HYDRA and S.H.I.E.L.D. files were leaked to the general public, Tomoko was one of the first ones to sort through all of them, being an operative for the CIA, as well as an exceptional hacker.

Still feeling the shaking of the ground bellow her, and didn't dare look up from where she was laying since she jumped into the SUV, clinging to dear life. How did she get into this mess!

* * *

 _Tomoko was sitting on her computer chair, sipping on her third morning coffee. It was her day off, but that didn't mean she wouldn't go and sniff about the endless network of data. It was more of a hobby than anything else. After all, the CIA only took her in because she broke through all of their security measurements, tearing down firewalls and viruses put there to prevent hackers from accessing their information. In her eyes, that was a challenge. And challenges are there to be conquered._

 _Putting her cup down, she looked at the computer screen, deciding her next move. Should she leave this, or keep on digging? At first look, it was an ordinary bank in Russia, but the security on it was way too tight. Why she was looking at a bank, you might wonder? Well, she did intend to retire and disappear from CIA's watchful eye. Bluntly put, it wasn't her type of thing to follow rules. When the CIA finally caught her, she was given an option: work with them, or rot in prison. It was an easy choice for her, but that didn't mean it was the end. And after S.H.I.E.L.D. fell, and every single dirty secret they had was exposed to the masses, Tomoko didn't plan on staying around to see the same happen to herself._

 _Typing down a few commands, she let the machine do the automated work, as she got up to refill her cup. To say that she was addicted to caffeine was an understatement. Her apartment, however small and stuffy, was in the middle of Manhattan, one of the most expensive regions to live in, in fact. And she was living here by the courtesy of the CIA. Looking out her foggy window, she saw the sun was beginning to rise, reflecting on the glass covered Stark tower in the distance._

 _Walking into the small kitchen, she noticed that she had drank all the coffee she had made this morning, so she started a new pot. Leaning against the kitchen counter, she focused on the small mahogany cupboards._ Spotless, just how I like them. _With the amount of coffee she consumed, it was no wonder she was freaky almost about every aspect of her life, and that included keeping her apartment squeaky-clean._

 _The coffeemaker behind her made a beeping sound, pulling her out of her train of thoughts. Turning around, she filled her cup with the aromatic black brew, adding 5 cubes of sugar from the_ _sugar bowl on the side of the coffeemaker._ Another unhealthy thing, aside from the caffeine consumption _, she mused to herself. Turning to the fridge, she opened it and took the milk carton out, giving a small dash of milk to her black drink, which filled the blackness with smoky ochre clouds, before returning the carton back into the fridge._

 _Giving her coffee a good stir, she swayed her thin body of the kitchen, humming a song she didn't quite know the lyrics of. After making it to her desk, she bent down to inspect her work, putting one leg on the chair behind her. The page she was looking at was just another firewall meant to re-direct people like her. Pulling her leg down, she sat on the computer chair, making herself comfortable for a few hours of work. After all, it was barely 6AM._

* * *

Her eyes were watering, and the events around her seemed at a standstill, as the SUV made its way out of the tunnel of the underground parking lot. She could hear people screaming on the streets, and the rumbling of the collapsing building behind the car. Holding her eyes tightly shut, she grinded her teeth with such force, that her jaw felt like it was about to break.

Information was indeed a dangerous thing, she mused. Calming her mind down, her only thought was that she was extremely lucky to reach out to S.H.I.E.L.D. about the buried treasure she discovered. Vaguely hearing the Widow speak on the phone with someone, telling them that they made it out of the building before it collapsed, she pulled herself up in the seat behind her. Blinking a few times to adjust to the light, she stared at her lap, clutching her laptop to her chest, trying to comprehend the situation.

"Hey…" the soft voice of the driver rang through the car, cutting through the terror filled cries coming from the streets, "you'll be okay, right?"

Concern? Tomoko couldn't tell what was laced in her voice. Looking up at the rare-view mirror, her chocolate orbs met with a pair of pear coloured ones. Reading the woman's body language was hard, too. She kept her emotions in line, barely showing anything on the surface. _Reminds me of someone I know._

Taking a deep breath, she singled out the words before saying them. "I'm okay." Simple, yet she was not completely sure if she told the truth. The woman's nod was left unnoticed as the petite Asian sat silently staring at nothing and everything on the back seat. It was going to be a long ride to D.C.

* * *

 _It's been hours of work, disrupted only by her getting up for more coffee, or adjusting the thick black mane she had on her head back into a messy bun. It was a hard code to crack, she'd admit that much, but it wasn't impossible, especially for the computer she was using. Working at the CIA had its perks._

 _She was almost there; she could feel it on tips of her fingers with each key she pressed. The feeling of accomplishment was like a static in her heart, making her pulse quicken in anticipation of the unknown that would soon be revealed to her._

* * *

Tomoko sat in the middle of a white room. _Typical interrogation room._ The scarce furniture of the room consisted of two chairs, one of which was occupied by her, and a simple table between them; the wall on her left was a tinted window, and on her right was, what she assumed, a _locked_ door. Digging that thing up was making her life shorter already. _At least I'm not dead… yet._

Sitting on the chair, she was still holding on to her laptop. They didn't even make an attempt in taking the machine from her, obviously knowing that it had a self-destruct chip embodied in it if someone decided to crack it open. If that wasn't the case, she might not even be alive at this moment.

Taking a good look around the room, her eyes lingered on the tinted glass wall. Her raven hair was a nest, and she had huge bags under her eyes. She couldn't tell for sure, but she thought her usually honey coloured skin looked a few shades paler. Shaking her head, she closed her eyes.

"I know you're watching me," she stated to no one and everyone on the other side of the glass. "If you have any questions, you can feel free to ask."

* * *

 _The room was dark, the only light illuminating her face was that of the screen in front of her. Fifteen hours of coding._ This… _She didn't have a single coherent thought in her head. Her pupils were dilated and her breathing was shallow. Hastily she pressed a few buttons and the screen in front of her blinked once._

 _Suddenly she stood up, and made her way to the window. The information she got was way too dangerous for her, and she knew it. She didn't have any guarantee that no one noticed her breaching the security system. Looking at the street below her, she saw it was fairly crowded: cars passing by, waves of people making their way back home from a day at work. Turning her back to the scenery, she bit her lower lip._

 _The computer screen blinked again, indicating she got a new message. Sitting back down in front of it, she opened it. It was only one line._

' _ **Expect a black SUV in your parking lot in 5 minutes.'**_

 _Standing back up, she made her way towards the small hallway of her flat. Getting a grey jacket on, and some simple black boots, she turned back towards her laptop. Looking at the screen, she could still see it right there._

' _ **WHITE'**_

 _Re-reading it, she flinched._ A biological weapon agency that's black ops, and not government controlled? A big brother overlord of all secret services? _Her limited Russian was only going that far, but the information was a fact: the group, whoever they are, are connected to all major secret services around the world. She wondered if she made the right call, contacting S.H.I.E.L.D., after they were officially shut down, and their information leaked to the free user._ At least I didn't see any information connected to BEAR. _Information was power, and the information that S.H.I.E.L.D. was still operating at full force was currently helping her escape the possibility of meeting face to face with another agency, which, by what she evaluated, was far scarier than the one at hand._

 _Grabbing her laptop, she didn't even bother getting her keys, as she made her way out of the door. Deciding against taking the elevator, she made her way down the stairs. Living only on the third floor of the twenty storey building, the parking lot was just four_ _floors below her. Just when she was about to enter the it, the floor shook below her._

What the hell kind of technology are they using! _Her mind was chaotic, they were going to bring the building down, along with its occupants, just because she dug that information down. Her heart felt heavy, but it didn't falter. Grabbing the door handle of the door that separated the parking lot from the staircase, she swung it open, stumbling to the floor in the process._

 _She could see it, a black SUV parked in the middle of the lot. The ground shook again, and the building gave out a screech, almost like it was crying for help. Getting back on her feet, she rushed towards the vehicle._

* * *

It felt like hours before anyone acknowledged her presence. A balding, well-dressed, middle-aged man entered the room, carrying a glass of water. Without sparing her a glance, he sat down, putting the glass in front of her. Without asking, she grabbed it and took a sip, which he didn't seem to mind.

"I'm agent Coulson," the man introduced himself, "It's a pleasure to meet one of the best hackers under the CIA, but given the circumstances, I think we should leave the pleasantries for another time." He flashed her a reassuring smile, much like one you would give to a child when you tell them you will buy them the toy they saw on a shop window the next time you go there, but that never actually happens.

Tomoko narrowed her eyes, putting the glass back on the table, but didn't respond to him. He didn't seem to care that much about her silence, as he continued, without further ado.

"As far as we know, there was an assassination attempt on your life. Would you care to elaborate on the matter?"

She sighed, closing her eyes for a brief second, before straightening up in her chair, looking directly into his eyes.

"I'm guessing it's best I show you, isn't it?"

The man in front of her simply nodded his head, acknowledging the fact that he was expecting exactly that. He got up and moved swiftly next to her, as she slowly put her laptop on the white surface in front of her, and opened it. At first, the screen was blank, then a window popped up, requesting authentication.

Looking over her shoulder, she cleared her throat, expecting to be given privacy, but the man behind her didn't even flinch, as his eyes were glued to the screen in front. Another sigh escaped her lips, as she swiftly typed down the authentication information. The screen blinked again, this time the words 'Welcome, Yellow Dragon' were written over it. The agent behind her smirked.

Pressing a few hot keys, a row of windows popped up, in a variety of different languages. Picking one titled simply _'GHOST'_ , she pushed the laptop to the side, giving him access to the document. Instead of reading the document, the agent grabbed the laptop and headed to the door.

"Thank you for your cooperation."

"WHAT!" she jumped up, knocking her chair down in the process. But it was too late, the agent was already out the door, her laptop unlocked to him, spilling all of her secrets.

Jumping towards the door, she tried opening it, but, to her dismay, her previous suspicions were right; she was locked in. Defeated, she turned around, and took the chair that had fallen down back up. Sitting down again, her eyes lingered on the glass of water in front of her. Sighing for the n-th time this day, she just laid her head on the table. _If only there was coffee…_

* * *

 _Tomoko was standing with her hands in the pockets of her white jacket, waiting for the last train for the day. She didn't think she'd even finish work on time to catch it, but there she was, in the train station, ready to go home for the day and get some well-deserved rest._

 _Looking around, she spotted three drunk guys at the far edge of the platform. Burring her head in the white scarf around her neck and closing her eyes, she tried to ignore the tightness in her chest. Fear had its claws sunk deep inside of her._ Only a few minutes, and I'll be on the train. _She kept repeating that in her mind._

 _She didn't know how, or why, but the drunks were suddenly aware of her presence and, without her noticing it, made their way towards her. One of them gripped her elbow, spinning her around to face them. They weren't significantly taller than her, but they looked far meaner._

 _Jumping from the sudden touch, she almost fell on her butt. Staring at them, she opened and then closed her mouth a few times. She didn't know what to say or do. They were just standing there, grinning at her, while one of them had his arm still extended towards her. She felt overwhelmed by fear by now._

" _Hey, there missy, wanna have some fun tonight?" the one that grabbed her before asked, and took a step towards her, with his arm still extended, ready to grab her again. Jumping back slightly, she just stared at the man. His face was long, and his hair was barely existing,_

" _Aw, don't be like that, we promise to be gentle," the guy on the left of her assaulter said, running a hand through his greasy hair._

" _I-I'm s-sorry, but I got to go h-home now…" she shuttered, trying to move away from them, but the third guy got in front of her. She could hear the train making its way to its destination, but she feared it would do her no good in the current mess she was in._

 _Suddenly, the greasy guy lunged at her, but due to the alcohol in his system making him slower she managed to instinctively jump away from him. Her instincts though, were inaccurate, as she landed on the very edge of the platform, losing her footing in the process. She barely registered it, barely noticed the falling sensation, before she felt the hard ground underneath her, as white pain shot from her right leg upwards. Her eyes were wide in shock as she watched the three drunks scoff at her from above, then make their wake out of the station, leaving her on the rails._

 _Shaking her head, she tried to pull herself up, stumbling in the process. She was hearing the train louder now, making out its headlights from her right. She could hear her blood pumping in her veins._ Is that what 'like a deer in headlights' means…

" _Hey…"_

 _A woman's voice filled her ears, snapping her back to reality. Looking up, she was met with a pair of cat-green eyes staring down at her. The woman above her had a bored look in her eyes, with a red and blue check scarf and a black beanie hiding every other feature of her face. Wearing an over-sized denim jacket, and black ripped jeans with high boots, she looked very out of place in the cold Japanese weather._

" _Are you planning on committing suicide?" the woman said, without blinking an eye, in perfect Japanese, keeping the same bored expression on her face. "Or do you fancy me, and that's why you're staring?"_

" _N-no!" Tomoko shot back, quicker than she anticipated._

" _To which question?"_

 _Tomoko was suddenly painfully aware that the train would be on her in the next few seconds, as the rails underneath her started shaking more and more. Her heart felt like it's about to stop, and the panicked look on her face seemed almost maniacal as she stared up at the stranger. How could she be so calm and collected in a situation such as this?_

" _TASUKETE!"_

 _The moment she shouted that, she was beginning to accept that she would probably die here, on the rails, before a complete stranger._ At least, there would be no one to miss me…

 _Suddenly, she felt herself getting pulled up by the collar. The woman was in front of her, on the rails, how she got there was a complete mystery to Tomoko, as she was standing up on the platform just a second ago. Feeling her body be lifted from the ground, there was an intense pain in her right leg, which she assumed she twisted in the fall. Before she could complain about it, though, she felt her rear end connect with the hard concrete of the platform. The stranger lifted her effortlessly onto it. She could only blink._

 _Suddenly, she was illuminated by the headlights of the train, which was headed directly for the strange woman, who was standing on the rails, where Tomoko was standing just seconds ago. Tomoko was about to scream, hearing the train screech on the rails. It happened in seconds, the woman jumped up, landing on the platform with a cat-like grace. Tomoko couldn't believe it._

 _Baffled, she stared up at the woman, mouth wide open, as the train made its stop in front of them. Sparing her a floating gaze, the cat-like woman turned to face the train, the same blank expression on her face, never faltering. Looking down, she extended her hand towards Tomoko._

" _You're going with this train, right? Would be a shame if you miss it, it's the last for tonight."_

" _I… uh-I…" she didn't know how to respond to that. Well, she did, but she was too overwhelmed to respond properly, her mind buzzing with questions. Blinking her hysterical thoughts aside, she accepted the hand. Effortlessly, almost like flying, she was hosted up against the woman, who moved them into the train. Tomoko couldn't help the small blush that graced her cheeks from the close proximity of the woman._

 _Being right next to her, Tomoko couldn't help but notice the soft features of the heart-shaped face of the stranger, framed by a few stray blonde locks of hair; the full red lips, the long eyelashes, the delicate curved eyebrows, the milky white skin, the almond shaped eyes. Compared to herself, this woman was the embodiment of perfection. Tomoko felt awfully ordinary at that moment._

 _Suddenly, the woman turned her head and locked her green eyes with Tomoko's brown ones._

" _Where do you get off, chibi-san?"_

 _Tomoko barely realised what the question was, or the offensive way the woman called her short. Suddenly painfully aware of the height difference, as she was only one and a half meters, and the woman was towering above her, she felt her heart skip a beat._

 _Pushing herself away from the tall stranger, Tomoko sat down on one of the worn out seats next to them, and without realising it, she replied._

" _Three stops from now."_

 _A 'hm' was the only sound that greeted her response, as the tall woman sat beside her, gazing into the night._

 _The two of them sat in silence for a good twenty minutes before Tomoko snapped out of her haze. Looking at the gracious woman next to her, a million questions exploded in her head._

" _Who are you?" she shot out, without thinking. Then, realising what she said, she added: "I'm Yazawa, Tomoko, by the way…"_

 _She could have sworn that the woman's features changed from indifference to surprise for a second, but the next second she looked, she was met with a bored look._

" _You're a polite one, aren't you, o-chibi-san," it was more of a statement than a question, and the woman mocked Tomoko openly, even though the tone of her voice was flat and non-caring._

" _And you're simply rude," she countered._ Serves her right _._

" _Oh, and that's how you say 'thank you' to the person who saved you?" that caught Tomoko off guard, because she had completely forgotten that her life was in danger just moments ago. Not only that, but she was so dazzled by the strange woman, that she completely forgot to express her gratitude to her._

 _Ashamed of her actions, she let her head fall, her gaze glued to the floor of the wagon. She wanted to slap herself. She felt tears starting to form in the corners of her eyes._ Twenty years old and still not behaving like an adult, Tomoko, well done!

" _You know," the woman started to say, "you just missed your stop."_


End file.
